Hood River Outing

 We joined the Neitzel-Platt clan in Hood River for a few hours of window shopping, shop exploring, coffee drinking, and dinner at the Full Sail Brewing pub.  Of course, there were pictures...

Boy outfit #26

Shopping guide info:

1. shoes - Converse, purchased at Nordstrom

2. pants - Bridger jeans, purchased at Prana

3. sweatshirt - Adidas, purchased at Adidas.com

4. t-shirt - Cotopaxi, purchased at REI.com

New speakers for our ancient t.v.

Our schnazzy new speakers, receiver, and console look great and are far too good for our 20-year-old t.v.

More Christmas News

We've been quarantining so we can see family over the holidays.  And by family I mean Nick, Megan, and Mia because they are the only local family members who are able to quarantine in the same manner.  Jim's staying with a friend since moving back from Salem, and Jyla and Bobby are busy preparing for the move to their new house shortly after the new year.  

The holidays won't feel the same this year but we're still trying to make them as fun and entertaining as possible.  The second season of The Mandalorian helped.  But so did the virtual Santa visit (see pic below).  In years past, I took Henry to see Santa at Bridgeport Village.  This location goes all out - a tiny, cozy cabin is built in the middle of the outdoor space, everything is decked out in all the Christmas trimmings, holiday music is played on loudspeakers outdoors for everyone to enjoy, etc.  It's awesome and wondrous and all things fantastical.  But no reasonable person would even consider an in-person Santa visit this year - are they even happening? - so we went the virtual route. 

It was totally worth the $25 bucks.  You simply book your appointment and fill out a form and then on your scheduled date and time you Zoom with Santa.  Heck, yeah!  The form had space for you to add some notes on your kid.  And, yes, Hen is 13 and that is a bit older than the typical kid visiting Santa, but I desperately wanted a photo of Hen and Santa to commemorate the Pandemic Christmas of 2020.  I also wanted an ornament to add to the tree that would remind me of this year and I found the perfect one on Etsy by Albright Illustration (see pic of ornament below).  

Most of the presents are wrapped, most of the shipped packages should arrive in time to be under the trees come Christmas morning, Christmas cards went out late last week, I have three more curbside pickups to do - yule log deliciousness from The Cakery, a book from Annie Bloom's Books, and groceries, and we have ingredients on hand to continue baking.  

I went for peanuts

Another trip to Costco ends with more than I bargained for.

Not pictured: Peanuts (I bought two.)

Costco run

the one thing I needed at Costco

what I bought at Costco (plus one box of organic diced tomatoes not pictured)

Look! More books! And a cat in a box!

Today marks another successful Scholastic Warehouse Sale. I took home 26 books at an average price of $3.80 per book. It was a Buy One, Get One event so I worked really hard to pair them up by price and get just over $100 so I could use the $10 coupon.

Here's the list:
Bean Stalker and Other Hilarious Scary Tales by Kiersten White
Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Bow Wow by Spencer Quinn
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
Navigating Early by Care Vanderpool
The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
Word of Mouse by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein
Horizon by Scott Westerfeld
Horizon Book 2: Deadzone by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Bad Kitty: Camp Daze by Nick Bruel
The Serpent's Secret: Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond by Sayantani Dasgupta
Where are the Galapagos Islands? by Megan Stine
DC Comics Secret Hero Society: Detention of Doom by Derek Fridolfs
A Wrinkle in Time adapted by Hope Larson
Trollhunters Tales of Arcadia: The Secret History of Trollkind by Guillermo Del Toro
Foiled by Jane Yolen
Plants vs. Zombies: The Greatest Show Unearthed by Paul Tobin
Sparks! by Ian Boothby and Nina Matsumoto

And for Monster Book Club members:
The Magic School Bus Rides Again: Monster Power by Judy Katschke
Peachy and Keen: A School Tail by Jason Tharp
The Zero Degree Zombie Zone by Patrik Henry Bass
Mae and June and the Wonder Wheel by Charise Mericle Harper
Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol: The Haunted House Next Door by Andres Miedoso
Race the Wild: Rain Forest Relay by Kristin Earhart
Toy Academy: Some Assembly Required by Brian Lynch

Scholastic Warehouse Sale, graphic novel edition

Scholastic has changed the pricing structure so the sale didn't add as much to our at-home library as I'd hoped. We spent $95 and got 20 books. To be fair, Hen's now interested in books that cost more, and I came home with more books for me than in the past. I'm most looking forward to Summerlost. It's only been a couple days since the sale and Hen's already finished several of the books. This kid is becoming quite the reader.

1. Plants vs Zombies: Bully for You
2. A Beetle is Shy
3. Goosebumps: Monster Survival Guide
4. Star Wars Skywalker Strikes
5. Disaster Strikes: Earthquake Shock
6. Big Nate, Welcome to my World
7. DC Comics Secret Hero Society: Study Hall of Justice
8. Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare
9. Summerlost
10. Sea Riders
11. Star Wars I am Droid
12. Fortune Falls
13. Grounded, The Adventures of Rapunzel
14. I am Princess X
15. Diary of a Wimpy Kid Cabin Fever
16. Princess Labelmaker to the Rescue
17. The Surprise Attack of Jabba the Puppett
18. Barnacle is Bored
19. The Adventures of Beekle The Unimaginary Friend
20. The Big Book of Building Mods & Circuits The Unofficial Guide

Purl Soho happiness

The sale was awhile ago but I'm just getting to posting about the goods I got at 40% off now. (40%!) A green and gold scarf or hat is in my future. Who knows what else I'll make but it'll be bright.

Scholastic Warehouse Sale: Prep volunteering means books for me!

We're getting fewer books for our own shelves and presenting books to Hen's first grade teacher, as part of her end-of-the-year gift, and to the library, because we love Safranit Molly. And, of course, we're sticking a couple books away as gifts because book gifts are some of the best, if you ask me. I only spent $12 because I volunteered to help with the sale setup and earned $90 in Scholastic dollars. Woot!

1. A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker
2. This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall by Gordon Korman
3. Night of the Twisters by Ivy Ruckman
4. Is It Night or Day? by Fern Schumer Chapman
5. Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan
6. The Garden of Eve by K. L. Going
7. Baseball Triviology by Neal Shalin
8. The Deadlies: Felix Takes the Stage by Kathryn Lasky
9. Ranger in Time: Rescue on the Oregon Trail by Kate Messner
10. Who Was Theodore Roosevelt? by Michael Burgan
11. Steve & Wessley in The Ice Cream Shop by J. E. Morris
12. Pete the Cat: Pete at the Beach by James Dean
13. Ugly Cute Animals by Melvin and Gilda Berger
14. The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick
15. The Eighth Day by Dianne K. Salerni
16. Pony Crazy by Catherine Hapka
17. How to Speak Dolphin by Ginny Rorby
18. Snoop Troop: It Came From Beneath the Playground by Kirk Scroggs
19. Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch
20. The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
21. Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
22. Monkey Me and the Golden Monkey by Timothy Roland
23. Diary of a Wimpy by Jeff Kinney
24. Ripley's Bureau of Investigation, Fact or Fiction: A Scaly Tale 
25. Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters by Suzanne Weyn
26. Molecules by Theodore Gray
27. Superstars of History: The Good, the Bad, and the Brainy by R. J. Grant
28. Jessica Finch in Pig Trouble by Megan McDonald

Yarn sale

Purl Soho had an unbelievable 40% off sale. Just sayin'.

Oyster Gray, Ice Blue, Ballet Pink - Purl Soho (merino script), Sequoia - Spud & Chloë (super bulky), Otter Brown, Green Gray - Purl Soho (super soft merino), Red Zinnia - Purl Soho (line weight), Ochre Yellow - Purl Soho (flax down)

New Purse!

After seven years of faithful service, first as a diaper bag and then as purse, I am retiring my old Timbuktu bag and buying

…wait for it…

…I'm building suspense…

…here it comes…

…hold onto your britches…

…

the Thurloe bag!

That's $68 bucks of bag beauty right there because Boden sent me a $20 coupon (woot!). It is a textured cotton bag with a "practical, wipe-clean coating" and a cross-body strap. I would not have thought I'd be this excited about a bag but I am. Isn't it cute? (Only acceptable answer: Yes.)

Scholastic Warehouse sale - It's here! It's here!

1. One Year in Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath
2. The Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut: Bowling Alley Bandit by Laurie Keller
3. A Dog Called Homeless by Sarah Lean
4. Kung Pow Chicken: Let's Get Cracking by Cyndi Marko
5. My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish by Mo O'Hara
6. What Was the Underground Railroad? by Yona Zeldis McDonough
7. Magic Tree House: Summer of the Sea Serpent by Mary Pope Osborne
8. Lizards by Nic Bishop
9. Spiders by Nic Bishop
10. Plants vs. Zombies: Lawnmageddon by Paul Tobin
11. Marty McQuire by Kate Messner
12. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Double-Team! by Christy Webster
13. Minecraft Essential Handbook by Scholastic
14. Weird Sea Creatures by Erich Hoyt
15. Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of Earth's Strangest Animals by Michael Hearst
16. Lulu Walks the Dogs by Judith Viorst
17. The Snatchabook by Helen Docherty
18. The Sandwich Swap by Queen Rania
19. The Little Red Hen and the Passover Matzah (2) by Leslie Kimmelman
20. Extreme Biology: From Superbugs to Clones…Get to the Edge of Science by Dan Green
21. Frankie Pickle and the Pinerun 3000 by Eric Wight
22. Dangerous Waters: An Adventure of the Titanic by Gregory Mone
23. The Notebook of Doom: Day of the Night Crawlers by Troy Cummings
24. The Notebook of Doom: Attack of the Shadow Smashers by Troy Cummings
25. The Notebook of Doom: Chomp of the Meat-Eating Vegetables by Troy Cummings
26. Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made by Stephan Pastis
27. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
28. Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith
29. Goddess Girls: Athena the Brain by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams
30. Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
31. The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
32. Ungifted by Gordon Korman
33. Looniverse: Stranger Things by David Lubar
34. The Sasquatch Escape by Suzanne Selfors
35. Super Buddies by Disney Book Group
36. Batman: The Fog of Fear by Martin Powell
37. Superman: Meteor of Doom by Paul Kupperberg

This morning I completed another ultra successful trip to a Scholastic Warehouse sale. One of the best perks about being a volunteer at my son's school - besides getting to spend so much time working in the library and hanging with new friends - is earning entrance into this sale, which is reserved for school administrators, teachers, staff, and volunteers. This year, I estimate I have volunteered over 100 hours. I did forget to pick up a book for each of his classmates so - oh, darn - I'll have to go back. Oh, and the average price per book was $2.41 after the $25 discount for spending over $100 was applied. (Only slightly cheaper than last year's $2.48 per book.) Woot!

I am super exctied to give this book to Hen for his birthday…

First off, there is no book about creatures that Hen doesn't appreciate. Second, the artwork is frickin' amazing. Third, it is another book for his nonfiction collection, which I'm always working to expand.

The book I think Hen will be most excited about…

Handwritten letter to Santa

With a cute letter like this there's no way the kid won't get the LEGO set he wants. (Don't tell him that.)

Kindergarten purchases

This is what it's like to go shopping for school supplies with Henry Finn.

Me: Hey, Hen? Can you grab that package of markers for me, please? 

Hen, pointing to one box: This one? 

Me: Yeah. I need two.

Hen, pointing to a different one: This one? 

Me: No, the one to the left. 

Hen, pointing to the one to the left of the first one he pointed to: This one? 

Me: Over one. The first box. 

Hen, pointing to an entirely different item: This one? 

Me: Are those markers?

Hen: No. <pointing back to the first box of markers> They are right there. 

Yes they are, son. Yes, they are.

Emergency bag - currently missing a flashlight, a poncho, and an extra pair of underwear.

Classroom supplies - I bought what I could find but the counts didn't always match up. I'm hoping that's okay.

I had intended to make Hen's lunch bag, I have all the fabric to do so, and then I went to New Seasons and saw this bag.  Seriously, how cute is this thing. The one downside is that it doesn't close. I'll sew on Velcro and that will no longer be a problem.

Nordstrom didn't have the shoes Hen wanted in stock but they ship for free so the new kicks this kid'll be wearing come fall showed up at our door this morning.

New shoes

Are you at all surprised that I am documenting Hen's first pair of sports shoes? You shouldn't be.

Hen recently started t-ball and we wanted to get shoes with a bit o' traction but that Hen could wear off the field. Enter the Nike5 Toomba. (Meant for soccer but is a five-year old going to know and/or care? Methinks not.) These shoes have traction galore and can be worn anywhere. The added bonus is the yellow comes pretty close to matching the team's color. Woohoo!

Grocery shopping differences

My last trip to Trader Joe's made it clear we shop differently for each person in the family...

Hen gets to pick food for his shelves. (He has one in the fridge and one in the cupboard.) He chose cereal bars, crackers and cheese, fruit jellies, dried apricots, chocolate milk, organic savory tofu,  seaweed, granola bars, and vegetables.

For papa - beer. (Note: Papa also came home with a bottle of scotch.)

For mama - wine, mints, chocolate, and butter substitute.

Multnomah County Library web site overhaul

Now that the new library web site is up and running, I sort of miss the old, quirky one. Sigh.

Ah well, it's certainly not going to stop us from enjoying our local library. A good tip I recently got from another preschool mom - when the Scholastic book ordering pamphlets arrive, if there is a book you aren't sure of, put it on hold at the library first. I've done this with several books and found that I can talk myself out of the purchase* once we've checked the book out from the library.

*Look, Darr! Saving money at every turn.

Refugee families and Christmas

For the second year in a row Ms. Megan, from CasaDeTiVo fame, has initiated, coordinated, Facebook grouped, and Google doc'ed so a couple of us can come together and help out folks in need. I was able to grab three super warm jackets from Old Navy for $24 a piece right after Thanksgiving, but my favorite purchase this year was a make-up kit I put together for an eight-year old girl. I'm not sure what the guidelines are for little girls and make-up but I think I found the most unobjectionable items out there - nail polish and remover, eye shadow, lip gloss, and shimmer dust. It all fits nicely in this adorable purple case lined with black and white polka dot fabric. So cute! When my father-in-law heard what we were doing, he contributed, too. 

We delivered these gifts to the Lutheran Community Services Center earlier today. Giving is good.

Money, money, money

I was looking for an activity to do with Hen today, the weather was fairly good, and we had no plans so it seemed like as good a time as any to introduce Hen to money. We broke into his piggy bank, took out ten dollars in quarters, and made a little coin cheat sheet. He received an additional $0.05 for making his bed that morning. We headed out with $10.05 in his money bag.

Our first stop was to deposit Darren's checks. We typically stop at the Starbucks in the building so Hen can get a treat (i.e., a cake pop) and milk. We've done it so often the lad thinks the café is where you are supposed to get milk. Anyway, we're all set to count out the quarters after placing our order - "May I have a cake pop, please?" - when the guy behind the register tells us that it's already been paid for. One of the folks in line in front of us had overheard us discussing how much money he'd need and paid for it. I appreciate the Pay It Forward moment as I've done those a few times myself. But darn it if they didn't thwart my attempt to teach my kid about budgeting his money. Oh well. We left a $0.50 tip and went on our way. $9.55 left in the money bag.

Next, New Seasons. Hen knew he wanted to get a Mega Stretch Frog so there was no surprise here. Hen selected the blue and purplish poison arrow tree frog for $3.99. We went to the cashier, he counted out the quarters, and he received his frog, receipt, and one penny. $5.56 left in the money bag. 

A new toy store that recently opened up in our neighborhood was our next destination. Hen spent a great deal of time here looking around the store before selecting a squishy ankylosaurus ($3.99) and five fire marbles ($1.00). We left with $0.57 in the money bag. 

All in all, it was a very successful experiment.